Jaehyuk went back to his boarding house to pick up the charger he had left behind. At school he usually borrowed other people's chargers because he was forgetful and too lazy to bring his own. But today, an unexpected incident kept him from returning to his place early.
"I'll just bring it. Who knows, maybe no one will be watching over Hesa later."
Jaehyuk slipped the charger into his jacket pocket. When he stepped outside, he accidentally saw Kala just coming out of his boarding house as well.
"Kala," Jaehyuk greeted.
"Hey," Kala replied.
"Where are you going?" Jaehyuk asked.
"Looking for food, hyung. You too?" Kala said.
"No, I'm heading to the hospital, but I'm picking Winter up first," Jaehyuk answered.
"Hesa's sick?" Kala asked.
"Yeah."
"What happened? How is he now?" Kala continued.
"He's better now, but Khan said his head was injured. Probably fell," Jaehyuk explained.
"Oh no… which hospital? Can we still visit this late?" Kala asked.
"We still can. You want to go now?" Jaehyuk said.
"Yeah, but I'm going to the market or a restaurant first. I can't visit someone in the hospital empty-handed," Kala replied.
"Oh right," Jaehyuk nodded.
"Hey, send me the hospital and the room number later, okay? I'll go first." Kala waved briefly and walked away.
Jaehyuk stood still for a moment, watching him leave.
"Something feels off…"
He tried to figure out what felt strange, but an incoming call on his phone immediately distracted him.
"Ah, Winter," he muttered.
He quickly hurried off while answering the call.
~~~~~~~~
"Damn, we really got lost earlier."
"No way we got lost."
"I'm serious. I took the wrong turn and followed Satya who had no sense of direction."
"Hahahaha!"
The voices woke Hesa from his sleep. Arkha, who noticed, immediately approached him.
"I—I…" Hesa slowly opened his eyes. Thankfully, he woke up in the hospital, not another realm.
"Still dizzy?" Arkha asked.
"No," Hesa replied.
"You still remember us, right?" Niki said.
"Ki, do you think he's anemic?" Satya said flatly.
"Amnesia, idiot," Jio corrected.
"I still remember you guys, Thirteen," Hesa said.
"Thank goodness. Your head was injured, so I was worried," Niki said.
Hesa reflexively touched the back of his head, which was already wrapped in bandages.
Earlier, when he regained consciousness, he saw Heeseung and…
"Where's Joan?" Hesa asked.
"You see the bathroom rug? Looks like he slipped. He's still being treated in the next room," Jio explained.
Hesa simply nodded as if agreeing, even though he knew that wasn't what really happened.
"Jae was the one who informed you guys, right?" Hesa asked.
"Yeah, he called me. When we all gathered here, he told us what happened to you, including about Setta," Arkha said.
"So where is that kid now?" Hesa asked.
"Picking up his stuff at the boarding house," Satya replied.
"Jae went back to the boarding house, then you guys? Why was Joan the only one left earlier when I woke up?" Hesa asked.
"Jio and I went to Setta's house to inform his family. We didn't have their number, so we had to go directly," Arkha said.
"Niki and I went downstairs to pick up the food delivery. When we came back, you and Joan were already lying on the floor," Satya added.
"Joan still hadn't woken up when we found him. We haven't checked on him again yet," Niki said.
"We can ask you what happened, right?" Jio asked.
Hm. It seemed Hesa had made a mistake earlier by saying he had woken up before—and that only Joan was left in the room.
"There's no big story. I just suddenly woke up and saw Joan already lying there. I wanted to help him, but I still felt weak and ended up falling too. My head hit the cabinet," Hesa explained.
Arkha glanced at the small cabinet beside Hesa's bed. There was a blood stain at the bottom corner. If Hesa had fallen by himself, wouldn't the stain trail from top to bottom?
But the stain he saw was only at the bottom. There was no way Hesa had thrown himself in a way that only left marks down there.
"I'm sure you were observing too, just like Yoan."
"The water in the glass was used to rinse something. Both dry and wet tissues were taken, but only wet tissues were in the trash. That means the dry tissues were probably used to wrap whatever you rinsed."
Arkha flinched and instinctively shook his head. For a brief second, he seeing two guys talking in the infirmary earlier.
Was it just a coincidence?
"What's wrong with him?"
Hesa noticing Arkha still looked shocked.
~~~~~~~~
It grew later into the night, and their conversation gradually thinned out.
"You guys should go home. It's late, and you have school tomorrow," Hesa suggested, feeling bad that his friends had been waiting for so long.
"Yeah. Take care here so you can go home tomorrow," Satya said.
"Yeah, don't worry," Hesa replied.
"But if we all go back, who's going to stay with you?" Jio asked.
"Jaehyuk and my girlfriend are already on their way. Don't worry," Hesa answered.
"Oh, okay then. We'll head back first," Satya said.
"Yeah."
They started walking toward the door, but Hesa grabbed Arkha's hand, stopping him from leaving with the others.
"What was wrong with you earlier? You looked really shocked," Hesa asked.
"Maybe I was daydreaming too much and saw someone pass by," Arkha said.
"Tch, I regret asking," Hesa muttered.
"Not a ghost. I saw two people talking in the infirmary. At first it looked random, but then I realized it was that lavender-haired guy and his red-haired friend… if I'm not mistaken, Agantha, right?" Arkha explained.
"What were they talking about?" Hesa asked.
"Something like observations. I feel like they're the school detectives," Arkha said.
"They're the detective gang, while we're the ghost-hunter team," Hesa replied.
"Hm," Arkha responded shortly.
"That's all you wanted to talk about?"
"No. I might not be able to come to school tomorrow. I'm worried the others will continue talking about the camping plan," Hesa said.
"Ah, that. I'm worried too. I'll try my best to divert the topic," Arkha assured.
"Thanks, Khan," Hesa said.
"No need. Let's just say we're partners from now on," Arkha replied.
Kriiieet.
The sound of the door opening startled them. It was Jaehyuk and Winter arriving.
"Oh, you're still here," Jaehyuk said awkwardly, worried he might be interrupting their serious conversation.
"N-No, I was just about to leave," Arkha replied.
"It's fine if you two still want to talk," Winter said.
"No. I really am heading home now," Arkha said, then said goodbye to Hesa, Jaehyuk, and Winter.
Jaehyuk sat on the sofa while Winter sat on the chair beside Hesa's bed.
"How are you feeling?" Winter asked softly.
"I'm better now," Hesa replied.
"If you're tired, rest. Don't let this happen again, and don't overthink things either," Winter said.
"Yes, dear," Hesa answered, glancing at Jaehyuk who was staring back.
"I'm seriously just a mosquito here," Jaehyuk grumbled.
"Hang in there, Jae," Hesa said jokingly.
"Be quiet," Jaehyuk muttered, slipping his phone into his pocket and heading toward the door instead of becoming a third wheel.
"Bye," he said while pulling the handle—only for the door to suddenly be pushed open from the outside.
Kala appeared behind the door. "Sorry, I'm late."
"It's okay, come in," Winter greeted kindly.
The red-haired boy stepped inside, followed by Jaehyuk.
"Jae, where were you going earlier? You were in such a hurry. Didn't you just come back with Winter?" Kala asked.
"Didn't want to be the third wheel," Jaehyuk replied.
"You mean a ghost?" Kala joked.
That instantly lightened the mood.
"I told you before, Kal—your neighbor is an anomaly," Hesa said before laughing again.
"Damn it," Jaehyuk grumbled.
"Oh right, I almost forgot," Kala said, placing the cake he brought on the small cabinet beside Hesa's bed.
"I bought this cake for you. Don't forget to eat it. It's the store's bestseller—always sold out. So don't worry, it tastes good."
"Hmm, okay. I'll eat it later."
Hesa smiled awkwardly. He didn't remember Kala ever being this cheerful.